Halfords have bought Boardman Bikes

@nwardill - so it sounds like, rather than halfords cannibalising the brand, halfords directors have simply recognised that the cycling market is worth the effort. The choices they then have are to effect a massive cultural and perception change towards the halfords brand (which they might be doing anyway, it would take time), buy another retailer (not viable, the other chains are only a step or two up from Halfords in terms of reputation, and a corporate like this isn't going to buy a dozen different independent bike shops), or buy a bike manufacturer. And whaddaya know, they have an existing relationship with a particular one. Starts to make sense now.

the elite series will not be sold through halfords, basically selling what they do now

On Loctite, they do sell it, red and blue.

And Halfords have effectively pigeonholed the bikes, the Carrera was always an entry level proper bike as distinct from the Apollo 'toys'

I'd imagine there's a business development plan in there. Chris Boardman is a man not short on ambition, drive or scruples, so there's no reason this can't be a good thing for the brand (plenty of reasons why it can't, too, but there we go).

Retail Week story with CB quote: http://www.retail-week.com/companies/halfords/halfords-completes-boardma...

Boardman bikes were always built to a price. Nothing wrong with that especially when the cycle to work schemes set a price. It's made the £500 - £1000 bike market very competitive.

I always thought it was a mistake being exclusively bound to Halfords. Good for Halfords though. Gives them a shot at credibility.

Good for Chris B. I hope he made a few bob. I wonder what he'll be up to next?

Wasn't aware myself that Boardmans were sold outside of Halfords before now, always assumed it was an in-house (or at least exclusive) brand to them. They don't really float my boat anyway, can't really put my finger on why.

I'm in the "cut Halfords some slack" camp too though. No doubt a subject with lots of anecdotal evidence, but I've always found the guys in my local store to be helpful as far a technical advice is concerned, if usually very busy.

Besides, I tend to just use click and collect anyway. They give the likes of Wiggle and Chain Reaction a good run for their money on pricing too, particularly with the frequent online discounts which you can still use even when collecting and paying in-store. It's mostly all on next day collection too, so no need to wait around for the postman.

Interesting, because recently I've noticed a couple of "real" bike shops starting to stock Boardmans. I wonder if those retailers had any inkling about this?

Carreras are perfectly fine bikes and good vfm.

Why don't we cut Halfords some slack and wait and see what they do with the brand before rushing, lemming-like, to judgement.

I had a feeling that my Boardman CX TEAM would be my last Boardman purchase. This news confirms it.

Ch-ching, so Chris won't be short of a few pennies. I bet he don't give a f*** about Dre.

They will just kill the brand and make it another Apollo style bike.

I guess they will cut ties with other outlets like Wiggle and small bike shops that stock Boardmans